Top 10 Poorest Countries of The World in 2012

Wealth is something that has never been, nor will ever be evenly distributed among people. Some people are blessed with many resources, while others strive everyday to get something to eat. We have talked about some of the richest countries in the world, so it is only fair that we should talk about the poorest countries as well. Life is so unfair for these poor people that according to an estimate by the United Nations, around 25,000 people die of hunger every day! Moreover, around 40% of the world’s population that is poor owns around 5% of the world’s resources, while 20% of the population that is rich owns 75% resources. Around 1 billion people in the world live on $1 per day, while another two billion live on $2 per day. Hence, more than half the world’s population is poor.

How a country’s wealth is estimated?

Normally, a country’s collective wealth is estimated by the GDP, which is basically a measure of the value of all the services and goods produced domestically. The more these goods and services, the more the GDP. A more precise indicator, however, is the GDP per capita, which is the measure of how much each individual person spends on goods and services. For a country to be ranked as “poor”, it has to have a GDP per capita income of less than around $1,000.

The poorest countries of the World

The following is a list of the 10 poorest countries in the world. The statistics provided come from a survey by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted in 2011.

10. Togo

• Continent: Africa (West)
• Capital city: Lomé
• Population: 6.7 Million
• GDP: $6.415 Billion
• GDP per capita: $898
• Land Area: 57,000 square kilometers
• Official language(s): French
• Currency: CFA Franc

9. Malawi

• Continent: Africa (south-East)
• Capital city: Lilongwe
• Population: 14.9 Million
• GDP: $13.9 Billion
• GDP per capita: $860
• Land Area:  118,484 square kilometers
• Official language(s): English, Chichewa
• Currency: Kwacha

8. Sierra Leone

• Continent: Africa (West)
• Capital city: Freetown
• Population: 5.5 Million
• GDP: $5.093 Billion
• GDP per capita: $849
• Land Area: 71,740 square kilometers
• Official languages: English
• Currency: Leone

7. Niger

• Continent: Africa (West)
• Capital city: Niamey
• Population: 15.7 Million
• GDP: $11.632 Billion
• GDP per capita: $771
• Land Area: 1,267,000 square kilometers
• Official languages: French
• Currency: CFA Franc

6. Central African Republic

• Continent: Africa (Central)
• Capital city: Bangui
• Population: 4.4 Million
• GDP: $3.641 Billion
• GDP per capita: $767
• Land Area: 622,984 square kilometers
• Official languages: French, Sango
• Currency: CFA Franc

5. Eritrea

• Continent: Africa
• Capital city: Asmera
• Population: 5.8 Million
• GDP: $4.037 Billion
• GDP per capita: $735
• Land Area: 117,600 square kilometers
• Official languages: Arabic, Tigrinya, English
• Currency: Nakfa

4. Burundi

• Continent: Africa (East)
• Capital city: Bujumbura
• Population: 8.75 Million
• GDP: $5.184 Billion
• GDP per capita: $614
• Land Area: 27,834 square kilometers
• Official languages: Kirundi, French
• Currency: Burundi Franc

3. Zimbabwe

• Continent: Africa (South)
• Capital city: Harare
• Population: 12.5 Million
• GDP: $6,127 Billion
• GDP per capita: $487
• Land Area: 390,757 square kilometers
• Official languages: English, Shona, Sindebele
• Currency: South African Rand, United States Dollar, Great Britain Pound

2. Liberia

• Continent: Africa (West)
• Capital city: Monrovia
• Population: 3.8 Million
• GDP: $1.769 Billion
• GDP per capita: $456
• Land Area: 111,369 square kilometers
• Official languages: English
• Currency: Liberian Dollar

1. Democratic Republic of Congo

• Continent: Africa (Central)
• Capital city: Kinshasa
• Population: 71.7 Million
• GDP: $25.262 Billion
• GDP per capita: $348
• Land Area: 2,345,409 square kilometers
• Official languages: French
• Currency: Congolese

Notice that all of these poorest countries belong to Africa. That isn’t much of a surprise, since African nations have been ravaged by civil wars, violence, corruption and poverty for the past few decades. On top of that, they frequently face natural calamities such as droughts, which renders the land useless for agriculture. Africa indeed is the most unfortunate area in the world.

(Note: The purpose of this list is not to direct negativity towards any nation. It is merely intended for educational purposes, so that the rich people can see that there are more poor in this world than there are are rich people, and so they can be motivated to help out the poor around them. I would urge our readers to do the same whenever possible in any small way possible)